Richard Henry Dana
Richard Henry Dana, Sr. (November 15, 1787 - February 2, 1879) was an American poet, literary critic, and lawyer. Life Overview Dana was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Among his novels are Tom Thornton and Paul Felton, both somewhat violent and improbable tales, and his poems, which are better, include The Buccaneer (1827), and The Dying Raven. He is, however, stronger as a critic than as a writer. He wrote largely in the North American Review, and for a time conducted a paper, The Idle Man, which contains some of his best work.John William Cousin, "Dana, Richard Henry," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 105. Web, Dec. 31, 2017. Youth and education Dana was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of Federalist judge Francis Dana.Haralson, Eric L. Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The nineteenth century. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998: 115. Print. He attended Harvard College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1806. He became a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar in 1811.Richard Henry Dana (1787-1879), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, May 29, 2016. Career Dana was also a literary critic. Between 1817 and 1827, he was the first American to write major critiques of Romanticism, though his views were unconventional then.Ferguson, Robert A. Law and Letters in American Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984: 249. ISBN 0674514653 In a review of the poetry of Washington Allston, he noted his belief that poetry was the highest form of art, though it should be simple and must avoid didacticism.Ferguson, Robert A. Law and Letters in American Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984: 250. ISBN 0674514653 Some of his criticisms were controversial. Dana accused Harvard of smothering genius, and declared that the minds of poets were more insightful than the general community. Dana also criticized the Transcendentalism movement. He wrote, "Emerson & the other Spiritualists, or Supernaturalists, or whatever they are called, or may be pleased to call themselves ... have madness in their hearts". Dana was a member of the Anthology Club; he and others in the club founded the North American Review.Brickhouse, Amanda. Transamerican Literary Relations and Nineteenth-Century Public Sphere. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004: 151. ISBN 0521841720Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. 1910 in 1817 as an outlet for his criticism, though his opposition with standard conventions lost him editorial control of it.Haralson, Eric L. Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998: 115–116. ISBN 1579580084 By 1850, his opinions were widely followed. As he wrote at the time, "Much that was once held to be presumptuous novelty ... became little better than commonplace". As a writer of fiction, Dana was an early practitioner of Gothic literature, particularly with his novel Paul Felton (1822), a tale of madness and murder.Ferguson, Robert A. Law and Letters in American Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984: 252. ISBN 0674514653 The novel has also been called a pioneering work of psychological realism alongside works by William Gilmore Simms.Pfister, Joel. The Production of Personal Life: Class, Gender, and the Psychological in Hawthorne's Fiction. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1991: 52–53. ISBN 0804719489 Nevertheless, Dana had difficulty supporting his family through his writing, which earned him only $400 over 30 years.Sullivan, Wilson. New England Men of Letters. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1972: 99. ISBN 0027886808 He lived on Chestnut Street in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood, ca.1840s-1870s.Boston Directory. 1848, 1852, 1861, 1873 He married Ruth Charlotte (Smith) and they had 4 children. His son, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., also became a lawyer and author. Dana died on February 2, 1879, and was buried in the family plot at the Old Burying Ground next to the First Parish in Cambridge. Publications Poetry *''Poems''. Boston: Bowles and Dearborn, 1827. * Poem delivered before the Porter Rhetorical Society, in the theological seminary of Andover, , September 22, 1829. Boston: Perkins & Mervin, 1829. *''The Buccaneer, and other poems''. London: H.G. Clarke and Co., 1844. *''The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe, and Richard H. Dana''. London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, 1861. Non-fiction * An oration, delivered before the Washington benevolent society at Cambridge, July 4, 1814. Printed by Hilliard and Metcalf, 1814.An oration, delivered before the Washington benevolent society at Cambridge, July 4, 1814, Google Books. Web, Mar. 28, 2012. Edited *''The Idle Man'' (magazine). New York: Wiley & Halstead, 1821. Collected editions * Poems and Prose Writings. Boston: Russell, Odiorne, & Co., 1833. *''Poems and Prose Writings'' (2 volumes), New York: Baker and Scribner, 1850. Volume I, Volume II. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy West Virginia University.Richard Henry Dana, Sr. (1787-1879), Strangers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry, College of Law, West Virginia University. Web, July29, 2013. See also *List of U.S. poets *List of literary critics References * Hunter, Dorren M. Richard Henry Dana, Sr. Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1987. Notes External links ;Poems *"Daybreak" (extract) * "To a Garden Flower Sent Me By a Lady" * Dana, Richard Henry (2 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. * Richard Henry Dana in An American Anthology 1787-1900: "Immortality," "The Chanting Cherubs," "The Little Beach-Bird," "The Moss Supplicateth for the Poet" * Richard Henry Dana at PoemHunter (5 poems) ;Books * ;About * Richard Henry Dana, Sr. at Stramgers to Us All: Lawyers and Poetry * Richard Henry Dana (1787-1879) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 * Richard Henry Dana, Sr. at Early American Fiction Category:1787 births Category:1879 deaths Category:19th-century American poets Category:19th century in Boston, Massachusetts Category:Beacon Hill, Boston Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:People from Cambridge, Massachusetts Category:Harvard University alumni Category:American poets Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets